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  • About
  • Coaching
    • Business coaching
    • Leadership coaching
    • Half-day coaching intensive
  • Workshops
    • Compassionate Conversations
    • Write Your Life Stories Workshops
    • The Confidence Course
    • Free Monday Talk & Meditation
  • Speaking
  • Retreat
  • Resources
    • Kate’s books
  • Blog
  • Contact
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More coaching testimonials

“As soon as I met Kate, I knew I had come to the right place.  Kate has a way of connecting naturally, genuinely and authentically with her clients and I felt this immediately.  It took her a very short time to really tap into who I was, where I’m at in life and the resources she recommended and suggestions she made in our first coaching session were wonderful and spot on in what spoke to me and resonates with me, right now.  I came for coaching with Kate as due to health difficulties, I feel “stuck” in life where despite circumstances, I still really want to achieve goals (career and personal) and re-gain confidence in myself.  Working with Kate, I feel I can benefit with positive clarity and direction in moving forward with how I truly want to live my life.  Kate is very respectful and understanding to talk to and her positive energy is really inspiring.  She certainly makes me feel comfortable and that I can achieve goals and dreams, despite obstacles.  I’m looking forward to continuing my journey with Kate and feel very blessed to have connected with her.  I’ve enrolled in the Dream. Discover. eCourse and am very much looking forward to this – to proactively work on positive changes in life.  I also found my meditation session with Kate to be wonderful.  She is  very skilled at explaining mindfulness, guiding meditations and explaining breathing techniques to help aid relaxation.  It’s definitely an area I wish to explore and develop further, daily for myself.”  Katie

“I can’t even tell you how Kate changed my life. What I can say is that in my first session I was in a job I really didn’t like, terrified and deeply unsure about making change. I was existing rather than living. I had five sessions with Kate – sort of fortnightly  – and she helped me step through some monumental changes. Today, I am actually a different person – in a wonderful job I love so much and in another city. My life hadn’t really taken the direction I’d hoped for so I was at a place that I didn’t really like. Kate helped me get back to the sort of life I might have dreamed about – different to the first dream, but absolutely as fulfulling.” Rebecca

‘I went to see Kate when I was a bit confused with things and needed some support and guidance with my life. Kate helped me break down into a manageable process a way to confirm and have confidence in the meaning of the different parts of my life including personally, my family and my business. In the time we spent together, Kate’s empathy and understanding along with her subtle confidence and guidance helped me see things in a new light. Kate helped me identify some of the influencing factors that have made me the person I am today and furthermore, how to accept and deal with that. I’m now a more balanced ‘me’. I highly recommend Kate if you feel like you just want to get your head in the right spot so you can feel more free to grow.’ Carl

“I can’t recommend the coaching sessions with Kate James highly enough. I was very sceptical about them before starting – imagining they would be full of corporate psychology jargon. But in fact, I gained far more from them than I ever imagined, on both a personal and professional level. The sessions are interactive, and conducted in a warm and positive manner, which encourages honesty and self-reflection, and extremely practical in focus. Their great strength is that they focus on your whole life and the way you live it, not just on your role as a manager. I’ve learned a great deal both in terms of how I lead my life and how I perform in management, the one informing the other. This holistic, down-to-earth approach has been the most helpful and realistic counselling/coaching I’ve ever had.” Executive, Melbourne

“Kate has helped me a lot: firstly to see my goals more clearly and secondly to achieve them by breaking them down into manageable chunks. She is very talented at ‘listening’ between the lines and gives easy to follow advice on how to move forward in life. Her positive feedback and constructive criticism have helped me stay on track when I was lacking motivation. Thank you, Kate, for helping me to see areas of my life in a different perspective and showing me how to work on my goals in order to feel more in control of my life.” WK, Melbourne

“I had decided to see Kate for coaching during a stage when I was unhappy with the way my life was progressing. I was stuck in a job I no longer cared for and had lost direction with what I wanted, and in fact liked, about myself and my career. I had become anxious and full of self-doubt. By slowly breaking down what I wanted to achieve in long and short-term goals I was able to tackle (and continue to) each point. After two months of coaching I have found a job in an area that has more careers prospects and I am now tackling larger issues of friendships and relationships. My anxiety dissipated and my self esteem improved. Kate doesn’t provide the answers for you, just the skills to help you build the blocks to taking control of your life.” KM, Melbourne

“Kate James is an inspiration! She has the natural talent of being able to read a person like a book. During my time as a client of Kate’s I found myself in a situation of blaming someone else for my problems and Kate was able to read both the situation and myself perfectly by gently prodding me to address the situation in a way that achieved the desired result for both parties. I want to thank her for her compassionate nature and her gift of understanding what was required by backing her intuition and her judgement. Kate truly knows people.” Mark Durkin, National Account Manager, Bolle Australia

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Lately, I’ve been exploring the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) ways our “not good enough” stories show up in daily life.As well as causing an overly active inner critic, they can appear as perfectionism, procrastination, overworking, people-pleasing, self-sabotage and comparing ourselves to others.These patterns, and the behaviours that accompany them, often feel completely normal. Sometimes they seem helpful or even protective. But underneath, there’s a subtle or even subconscious belief: “I’m not enough as I am.” Most of us fall into several of these habits from time to time, but you might notice that one or two are your familiar defaults when self-doubt creeps in.This week, see if you can catch yourself if you're over-functioning or feeling stuck. Pause. Take a breath. And choose just one small step that leads you in a different direction. ✨#youareenough #quietconfidence #selfworthjourney #buildingconfidence #notgoodenough
After some time away, I’m finally returning to this space. I have missed connecting with you here.I’ve been navigating an autoimmune condition which surprisingly, has turned out to be as much of a gift as a challenge.It has made me really slow down and focus on my wellbeing. Like many of us, I’ve had a tendency to overcommit – which is probably why I’ve been teaching mindfulness all these years: as much as a reminder to myself as a gift to those I teach.I’ve spent time reflecting on why we do these things, which has inspired plenty of research, a whole lot of writing and insights that have been helpful for me and I hope for you too as I share them.While I’ve been dealing with this small health issue, the world is also having its own kind of reckoning, and both of these things have given me a reason to pause and consider what really matters.Here’s what I’ve been making time for:✨ Slower mornings, always with time to meditate and walk in nature.✨ Deepening my connection with creativity. I’ve just finished training as a facilitator in writing our life stories. I’ll share more about this soon.✨ More time for journalling and writing.✨ Moving more slowly and gently. I know this sounds like such a small thing, but since becoming a mother over three decades ago, I have had a tendency to rush through my life. ✨ Being aware of my need to rest, which means setting healthier boundaries.✨ Deepening my connection with meditation which has meant writing and recording some new tracks. I’ll share these on Insight Timer in the coming months.✨ Taking the pressure off myself socially, but making time to do restorative, gentle things with dear friends and family.I definitely don’t have it all figured out yet but I am listening more carefully to what matters – and for now, letting that be enough.If you’re on a similar path of slowing down, healing and reprioritising, I’d love to hear how you’re travelling. What have you found most helpful? ✨#autoimmunehealing #slowliving #mindfullife #womenandwellbeing #meditationpractice #creativehealing #natureheals #writingtoheal #insighttimer #lifeinbalance #cradlemountain📷 by @chrisjamesphotos ❤️
Uncertainty has been a consistent theme in my life at the moment. With clients, friends, family and even for me at a personal level.I feel hugely grateful for mindfulness practices during times like these and I’ve also found the following five steps to be helpful.1. Find pockets of certainty, wherever you canTidy the house, sort your finances, clean out your wardrobe, organise your paperwork, plan your meals for a week. Making the small things around you feel ordered and beautiful will help you to feel a little more at peace.2. Appreciate the things that make your life beautifulOne of the things I became aware of while we were on holiday in Tassie was how much natural beauty was around us every day. Try engaging your sense of gratitude with every meal you eat, every friendly encounter, every interaction with nature and every opportunity you have to experience or engage in creativity.3. Make time for practices that are genuinely soothingIf meditation isn’t your thing (and it isn’t for many people), try a different form of mindful relaxation. On a recent Insight Timer Live we explored this topic together and came up with dancing, singing, reading, walking, yoga, pilates, gardening, playing, sketching, painting, skiing, paddle boarding, surfing. The most important thing is that you make time for whatever it is that brings you some calm. 4. Acknowledge your feelings and offer yourself compassionMake room for all of the emotions – the fear, anxiety, worry, sadness, anger, frustration and powerlessness. Notice where you feel those emotions in your body and offer yourself genuine compassion.5. Make peace with uncertainty, as best you canWe won’t feel uncertainty every day but it’s likely that we’ll experience it often in our lives and we’ll probably always find it difficult. Remind yourself that nothing will stay the same forever and you’re strong enough to handle this. ✨
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” Nelson Mandela ✨
A follow on from last week’s post about aspiring to simplicity. I’m on holiday in Tasmania where I was lucky enough to live for ten years. Yesterday, as we drove through the countryside, I was struck by a lovely memory. At around the age of 12, I spotted many abandoned little cottages, very much like this one. I knew at the time that the simple beauty was all that I would ever want and need in my lifetime. A humble home surrounded by plenty of nature. I had a picture of myself planting a garden, reading by the fire, writing at a little wooden desk and baking in an old fashioned kitchen. Maybe one day having my own children and sharing my love of nature with them. Almost 50 years later, it’s still all of these things that fill me with joy and give my life meaning. I think most of us knew ourselves well at that age yet often, we lost trust in what we believed in and started shaping ourselves to please other people. Can you remember what it was you dreamed of? ✨
An invitation to go a little more gently this week. To let go of some of your striving. To notice the things that you already have. And to make sure that you really do treasure them. ✨💛
Since writing last week's post, I've had my value of 'inner harmony' front of mind, because it's something I don't always find easy.I've been a worrier all my life, so even after years of meditation practice, I sometimes find it hard to create a quiet mind – unless I'm immersed in nature. When Chris encouraged me to try paddle boarding a few years ago, I had no idea if I'd be able to do it. I'm not naturally sporty so things like this don't come easily. But something magical happened when I first stood on that board and looked into the beautiful clear water.I felt (and still feel) transported to a place that removes me from all of my worries. I become immersed in the wonder beneath me. The forests of seaweed, the schools of fish, the way the sunlight creates patterns on the seabed and once, we paddled with dolphins. All of it is truly magical (and quite miraculous that I can keep my balance). I didn't mention last week that one of my other values is courage, which is the one I embraced when I first went out onto the water.The irony is that some of the moments that bring the most peace are made possible when I do something that scares me. ✨
One of the things I do with almost every new client I work with is a values exercise. It's such a powerful tool to help you identify what really matters in your life. Once you've chosen your personal values, you begin to understand why certain choices, places or relationships, feel so right. And why others really don’t. Your values will help you make meaningful choices that shape how you live every day. And as soon as you start living in alignment with your values, your life immediately becomes more meaningful.Do you know your top three values? I’d love you to share them if you do. Mine are inner harmony, kindness and connection. As well as connection with others and myself, this includes a deep sense of connection with nature which is why we live where we do. 🌿 If you’re interested to discover your values, I’ve included a link in my bio to an easy exercise that will help you gain clarity on yours. It really can be life-changing. ✨
This morning on @insighttimer Live, I spoke about the practice of gratitude and how research has found it to be an antidote to many physical and psychological challenges.It can improve sleep, reduce fatigue, and lower levels of cellular inflammation. One study found that those who practice on a regular basis experience less depression and are more resilient following traumatic events.Another called it “the mother of all virtues”, in that it encourages other virtues such as patience, humility, and wisdom.In my own life, it has been a daily practice for a few decades now. At the end of each day, an app on my phone called Grateful sounds a reminder and allows me to add a few words and photos.The best thing is that I now have a collection of my favourite memories that I can scroll through at any time. I took this pic just over a week ago at our local beach. At the end of an afternoon of swimming and paddling with Meg and me, Oscar said, “Grandma, that was the best day ever.” I love that he’s already grateful for the simple pleasures. ☀️
© Kate James 2025

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We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands we live and work on, the Boonwurrung people of the Kulin Nation and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.

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